Monday, April 30, 2012

'Supermoon' Alert: Biggest Full Moon of 2012 Occurs This Week

by SPACE.com Staff

Date: 30 April 2012 Time: 01:54 PM ET

Skywatcher Tim McCord of Entiat, Washington caught this
amazing view of the March 19, 2011 full moon - called a supermoon
because the moon was at perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit
- using a camera-equipped telescope. CREDIT: Tim McCord

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend.
The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m.
EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's
perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's
biggest.
The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our
planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big,
extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.

The private spaceflight company SpaceX successfully test fired the rocket that will launch the first-ever commercial space capsule to the International Space Station today (April 30), after a slight delay that was caused by an apparent computer glitch.

SpaceX officials conducted the so-called "static fire test" of the firm's Falcon 9 rocket today on a second try at 4:15 p.m. EDT (2015 GMT) at Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The Falcon 9 rocket is poised on the launch pad, ready to blast off
toward the space station on May 7. SpaceX aired the engine test live via
the company's website.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Feeder Buses Could Save More PAT Bus Service

As the first of seven public speakers before the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Allegheny County Friday morning (April 27), long-time public transit advocate Glenn A. Walsh proposed using feeder buses to save Port Authority funds, which could be used to preserve additional bus service.

In a prepared statement, Mr. Walsh said, "With the great success of the North Shore Connector and feeder bus
routes 14 and 18, Port Authority costs could be reduced by greatly increasing
feeder bus lines. With feeder bus lines, you would eliminate the time and money
wasted when buses crawl through Downtown traffic, particularly during rush
hours. This would be a much more efficient means of providing the same transit
service."

Good morning. I am Glenn A. Walsh, 633 Royce Avenue, Mt. Lebanon, a
regular Light Rail and bus rider who has chosen not to drive a motor
vehicle since 1985, to help save energy, protect the environment, and reduce
city traffic congestion. I have been an active transit advocate for more than
30 years, including 3 terms on the Allegheny County Transit Council as a
Charter Member. Today, my comments are my own and do not reflect those of any
organization.

A 35 percent cut in transit service would devastate many people in
Allegheny County. Money must be found to reduce, if not eliminate, these
proposed cuts.

With the great success of the North Shore Connector and feeder bus
routes 14 and 18, Port Authority costs could be reduced by greatly increasing
feeder bus lines. With feeder bus lines, you would eliminate the time and money
wasted when buses crawl through Downtown traffic, particularly during rush
hours. This would be a much more efficient means of providing the same transit
service.

ØBus routes that circle
Allegheny Center or Allegheny Commons Park could feed into the North Side
Subway Station.

ØMost West End buses could feed
into the Allegheny Station. Route G2 would continue on Carson Street, to serve
The Duquesne Incline, and terminate near the Gateway Subway Station.

ØSouth Busway buses could feed
into the T at South Hills Junction.

ØA consolidation of routes 40
and 43 could circulate on Mt. Washington and feed into the Monongahela Incline,
with free transfer to the T.

ØRoutes 48 and 51, and perhaps
other South Side bus lines, could feed into the T at Station Square.

ØMany East End bus routes could
feed into the Steel Plaza Subway Station, while Mon Valley bus routes could
feed into the First Avenue Station.

ØEast Hills bus routes could
feed into the Wilkinsburg Station.

Money could be saved by implementing such feeder bus service. This
money could be used to preserve some bus service now slated for elimination.

Even if some State money is eventually forthcoming, it may not be the
entire $64 million needed. Implementation of a feeder bus system could provide
the additional funds necessary to keep more buses on the road.

Even if you vote today to approve the proposed service cuts, please
evaluate the financial viability of this feeder bus system proposal.

NEW YORK — Science fiction met fact with a "Star Trek" twist here today
(April 27) when the space shuttle Enterprise, named in honor of the
starship from the beloved television show, came face-to-face with Spock —
Leonard Nimoy, that is.
The "Star Trek" actor was on hand at John F. Kennedy International Airport when the shuttle Enterprise flew in
atop a jumbo jet Friday morning. Enterprise was delivered from
Washington, D.C. to the Big Apple, where it will eventually go on
display at Manhattan's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Scientists detect subatomic particle

A European Organization for Nuclear Research scientist checks a monitor during an experiment (AFP/File, Fabrice Coffrini)

European scientists said Friday they had detected a subatomic particle that sheds light on one of the basic forces of nature which determines the structure of matter.

The particle, a baryon called
Xi_b, cannot be detected directly as it is too unstable, but scientists
observed traces of it in a test at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Photos: Ghosts of Gemini

Forgotten photos show the human face of NASA's early astronaut program.

Gemini was the middle child of the early space program, the one we always have trouble remembering. Mercury had the right stuff, Apollo had the moon. Gemini had…hardware demonstrations. Yet these two-man missions—10 over the course of 20 months in 1965 and 1966—worked out some of the fundamentals of spaceflight, from spacewalking to orbital docking.

The Gemini astronauts also took some of the most memorable photos in NASA history. You’d think we would have seen them all by now. But with NASA's help and funding, a team of researchers at Arizona State University led by lunar scientist Mark Robinson has retrieved from the archives (and scanned at high resolution) dozens of outtakes that never made it into wide circulation.

Below are some amazing pictures that look 3D without you having to wear any special glasses!
How does it work? The most significant factor which contributes to depth perception is bionocular disparity–it’s the fact that your left and right eye, because they’re separated by a few inches, see a slightly different picture of what is in front of you. Your brain integrates these two pictures into a coherent vision but it uses the difference between the pictures to give you a sense of depth. To see what I mean look away from your computer screen across the room. Alternate closing one eye than the other; notice both the difference between the pictures from each eye and also that with one eye closed the world seems flat.

Most 3D pictures achieve their effect by showing a slightly different picture to each eye. The old fashioned red and blue glasses did it by color filtering; the modern day 3D movies use oppositely polarized lenses.
Below is a new technique I’ve never seen before: by alternating the left and right eye image fast enough your brain integrates them to give you a sense of depth.

[Claud pointed out in the comments below that these images work equally well with one eye closed, so it's probably not binocular disparity but instead motion parallax that causes your brain to perceive depth. Motion parallax is the change in relative position of objects in the foreground and background as you move. Lean left and right as you look across the room and notice how the objects nearest to you change position relative to objects further away. Basically, the images below are simulating movement even while you're sitting stationary at your screen tricking your brain into perceiving depth.]

Friday, April 27, 2012

The new Liberty launch vehicle, which draws on parts of
NASA's cancelled Ares I rocket and Europe's Ariane 5 rocket, will use
existing infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center--including, possibly,
the mobile launch platform shown in this illustration. CREDIT: ATK

To help spur the development of a new fleet of commercial spacecraft to
carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, NASA has
partnered with select private companies to foster the design and testing
of the new vehicles. But the firms that received funding from NASA are
not the only players in the game.
NASA has also made deals with several other commercial companies under
so-called unfunded Space Act Agreements. As part of these arrangements,
the agency provides expertise that could help the companies develop
their vehicles or launch systems, but does not give out any money.

Europe Solar Orbiter Moves Ahead With De-scoped NASA Participation

NASA's
funding woes continue to have an impact on the European Space Agency
(ESA) as it presses ahead with plans to launch a next-generation solar
probe in 2017.

NASA was expected to provide up
to four instruments and a launch vehicle to ESA's Solar Orbiter
Collaboration, a robotic sun probe designed to help scientists
understand the causes of space weather and provide the closest-ever view
of the sun during the spacecraft's seven-year design life.

But rising launch costs coupled with flat
spending in the U.S. forced NASA last year to pare back its Solar
Orbiter commitment, leaving ESA to fund two instruments – the
Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph and Spectral Imaging of the Coronal
Environment – on its own.

Fragments Found of Meteor That Exploded Over California

Near the site of the discovery that launched the Gold Rush more than 150
years ago, meteorite hunter Robert Ward has tracked down another sort
of rock —fragments of a minivan-sized meteor that blew up in the sky above California's Sierra foothills early on Sunday.
Ward, who has been hunting for meteorites for more than 20 years, told the Associated Press
Thursday that he found a pair of fragments weighing about 10 grams each
roughly 35 miles northeast of Sacramento nearby Sutter's Mill, the
famous location where James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848.
MORE: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403642,00.asp

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Student researcher spies odd lava spirals on Mars

Photo credit: AP | This image provided by NASA on Thursday, April 26, 2012 shows lava flows in the shape of coils located near the equatorial region of Mars. Analyzing high-resolution images of the region, researchers have determined the area was sculpted by volcanic activity in the recent geologic past. This is the first time such geologic features have been discovered outside of Earth. (AP Photo/NASA)

LOS ANGELES - (AP) -- A researcher has spotted lava flows shaped like coils of rope near the equator of Mars, the first time such geologic features have been discovered outside of Earth.
These twisty volcanic patterns can be found on Hawaii's Big Island and in the Pacific seafloor on our planet. While evidence for lava flows is present in many places on Mars, none are shaped like this latest find.
"I was quite surprised and puzzled when I first saw the coils," Andrew Ryan, a graduate student at Arizona State University, said in an email. He reported the discovery in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Cassini Finds Saturn Moon has Planet-Like Qualities

Phoebe's true nature is revealed in startling clarity in this mosaic of two images taken during Cassini's flyby on June 11, 2004. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute › Full image and caption

Scientists had their first close-up look at Phoebe when Cassini began exploring the Saturn system in 2004. Using data from multiple spacecraft instruments and a computer model of the moon's chemistry, geophysics and geology, scientists found Phoebe was a so-called planetesimal, or remnant planetary building block. The findings appear in the April issue of the Journal Icarus.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Dawn Spacecraft Reveals Secrets of Giant Asteroid Vesta

April 24, 2012

PASADENA, Calif. - Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. The findings were presented today at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria, and will help scientists better understand the early solar system and processes that dominated its formation.

Images from Dawn's framing camera and visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, taken 420 miles (680 kilometers) and 130 miles (210 kilometers) above the surface of the asteroid, show a variety of surface mineral and rock patterns. Coded false-color images help scientists better understand Vesta's composition and enable them to identify material that was once molten below the asteroid's surface.

WASHINGTON -- The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is seeking proposals to continue promising studies for which it has supported the first phase. These cutting-edge concepts have the potential to transform future exploration missions, enable new capabilities, or significantly alter current approaches to launching, building, and operating aerospace systems.

"These transformative concepts have the potential to mature into the new capabilities NASA needs for the challenging space missions in its future," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

At first, the compilation of images looks like relatively simple computer-generated imagery of the gas giant. But the images become awe-inspiring when you realize they are all actual photos taken by NASA.

The collection of moving images is set to "That Home," performed by the British jazz and electronic band The Cinematic Orchestra.

45 seconds into the video you can see space debris crashing into Saturn's rings. About a minute into the video, the images take on an almost psychedelic turn, as van den Berg captures images of gas geysers on the solar system's second largest planet.